Machine for making manifold forms



G. L. FULK MACHINE FOR MAKING MANIFOLD FORMS -'Jan. y17, 1939.

Filed Sept. 2, 1936 Patented dan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINEIOR MAKING MANIFOLD FORMS .George L. Fulk San Francisco, Calif., assignor vto Carbon interleaved Forms Corporation, Norwalk, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 2, 1936, Serial No. 99,104

` i claims. (o1. zio-sz) at the completion of the record. Manifold packs of this character generally comprise a plurality of record sheets interleaved Withtransfer sheets `to form a Single unit.

The general object of the present invention isl to provide a method and apparatus for making a manifold package or pack of 'substantially continuous webs of material, at comparatively high rates o'f speed, andin such manner that accurate Y "registration of the various `webs will be main- An additional object is to provide a machine for manufacturing manifold packs of substantially continuous `rolls of material at comparatively high rates of speed, and which is arranged .to assemble a plurality of webs, secure such webs together and sever individual packs from the webs without interrupting progress of the webs at any stage during the manufacture of the packs and in such manner as to` maintain uniformity of width of the various packs, ras well as to maintain uniformity of width of the various records in each pack.

Other and more specic objects of the present invention will becomemore apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in. which I illustrate a preferred form of `mechanism for carrying out my improved method. The essential features of the invention will be `summarized in the claims. In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the machine, shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa fragmentary vertical section, the plane of which is indicated by the line 3-3 Von Fig. 2, but shown on a larger scale than that illustrated in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the manner in which the superimposed webs are assembled and severed. e

The manifold pack with which the present4 invention is concerned may include any number of record strips,such as, Vfor example, those in-V dicated in Fig. 4 at I0, II, I2 and I3, with interposed transfer or carbon strips I4, I5 and I5. The record and transfer strips are fastened together, preferably with adhesive along one edge above perforation line I1, while the lower edges r I8 of the transfer strips terminate above the bottom edges of the record'strip. Thisv arrangement enables the operator to grasp the tab portion 20,

' use.

above the line of perforations I1 withthe thumb and foreilnger of one hand and the record strips in the region of the overhanging portion beneath the lowermost edges of the transfer sheets with the thumb and forengers ofthe other hand. 'Ihe two portions are snapped apart, thus leaving the detached record strips of the unit in one hand and the detached transfer strips of the unit in the other hand, the transfer strips then may be discarded and the record strips led for future To make the pack 2l illustrated in the extreme left-hand end of Fig. 4, I take rolls 30 of record strips or webs on which the desired forms have been printed, andI provide a series of openings 22 along the longitudinal -edge of each strip. I utilize these openings for receiving projections on feeding rolls to hold the strips in registration during the assembling operation. The record strip rolls are indicated in Fig. 1 at 30 and are each freely movable on a support, such as a bar 3l. These bars are shown as extending laterally from a frame 32, and as corresponding in numyher to the 'number of record sheets required to.

form the desired pack.

'I'he webs or strips are fed from their respective rolls 30 upwardly between suitable feeding rollers 33 and 3| which are power-driven by a motor 35. From its feed rollers, each web passes upwardly around suitable guide bars 3J and 38 after which it passes over a drum 40. The drums III each carry radially extending pins 4I, that project into the openings 22 to align the longitudinal edge of each web as well as to align the printed form on one web with the printed forms on the other web.

Suitable rolls 45 provided with recesses for receiving the pins II of the drums 40 are positioned above the respective drums and coact therewith to retain the web in position. Each Aroll 45 is journalled at the free end of an arm 4l, which is pivotally mounted on the frame, and is preferably arranged to permit adjustment of its position rel- The web from each f' suitable manner.

' from the shear plate.

nected tolether preferably by adhesive material. 'I'he adhesive material maybe applied by paste rollers, which are journalled with their lower regions in paste containers carried by the frame 22. Each paste roller has two contacting surfaces, one of which forms an adhesive line 50, by means of which adjacent record strips are fastened together, and the other of which forms a line 59, by means of which the back of each transfer strip is fastened to the back of the superimposed record strip. The upper edge 51 of the record strip terminates between the adhesive lines 52 and 58, while the adhesive line 50 below the line of perforations 22.`

After the record strips and the -interposed transfer strips have been completely assembled and secured 'together as above described that portion of the lrecord strips' which carry the aligned openings 22, which are utilized merely for maintaining the webs in accurate alignment and registration, is removed. This may be accomplished as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, by a cutting wheel 10, which is constantly `rotated by a motor 1| supported by the frame 32 in any The wheel is preferably 1ocated, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to cut the webs immediately after theypass over an aligning roll 40a similar to the rolls 40 heretofore described.

The assembled webs are maintained in contact with the roll 40a by a spring pressed finger 45, as shown in Fig. 3.

Following the severing of the portions of the webs bearing the openings 22 from the assembled strips.' as above described, the webs are severed to formA individual packs 2|. This severing is accomplished by the use of a shear carried by lthe rotating drum 80. This shear comprises a knife 0| secured to the roll 80, which in turn is drivingly mounted on a shaft 82 journalled in suitable bearings l2 carried by the frame 32 and is driven by the motor 35 as will be hereinafter more fully described.

As the assembled web'passes under the rotating knife 10, it progresses along a table Bl the foremost edge of which is provided with a shear plate 05 arranged to coact with the knife Blito shear a pack from the web once. for every rotation of the drum 00.

The relation between the cutting edge of the edge rotates about the shaft 02 at substantially the same peripheral speed as the lineal speed of the assembled web. To enable this relationship tobe maintained, both the shear plate 84 and the knife 8| are adjustably mounted. 4

The shear plate is mounted in a guideway 06 and an adjusting screw 01 is provided to facilitate the positioning of the plate. A clamping screw l0 passes through a slotted opening in 'the guidewayjand treadingly engages the shear plate table thus securing the shear plate in its `adjusted position. Two sets of clamping and adjusting screws are preferably used, one at each side of the table 04 to enable accurate maintenance of the angular position of the shear plate relative to the knife Il. v

The knife 0| ismounted in a recess 50 formed in the roll 00 and is adjustable toward or away Adjusting screws 9| carried by the drum and abutting the end of the knife facilitate this adjustment, while clamping screws 92, which pass through slotted openings in the knife and threadingly engage the drum,.

serve to maintain the knife in its adjusted position.

It will be noted that the rotary knife 10 which shears a strip carrying the openings 22 from the assembled .web as well as the shear'sl which severs the web into individual packs, are both relatively close to the guide drum 40a and are both arranged to perform their operations with out interrupting the progress of the web or without causing the assembled web to buckle or to be otherwise distorted or forced out of alignment, any of which conditions would tend to cause the widths of the various packs to vary one from the other or the widths of the individual records which make up a single pack to vary one from another.

The various aligning drums as lwell as the knife 8| are'driven in synchronism to insure accurate registration of the records and to maintain constant width, both of the packs and of the records in each individual pack. As shown, the motor 35 is drivingly connected by a belt or chain |00 with a line shaft |0I. The drums 40 and 40a are each drivingly connected with respective worm gears |02 which mesh with worm |05 carried by the line shaft. The shaft 02 of the knife drum. 00 is drivingly connected to a worm gear |05 meshing with a worm |05 carried by a shaft |01 which is driven by the line shaft |0| through bevel gears |01. The feed rolls 33 and 34 may be driven from the line shaft I0| in a manner similar to that described in connection with the drums 40.

. -From the foregoing descriptionl it will be apparent that I have provided a method 'and apparatus by means of which multiple sheet forms may be expeditiously assembled by interleaving webs of form material with webs of transfer material; securing the various webs together; and severing the assembled webs into packs without interrupting the progress of the materials at any stage of the operation thereby insuring accurate registration of the records as well as maintaining accurate width of the packs and the various records of the individual packs.

1. The method of making av manifold packin which transfer strips are interleaved between record strips, comprising continuously. feeding respective elongated strips of recordand transfer material into interleaved relationship, at a pre- ,determinedirate of speed and aligning the strips one t'the other securing the aligned strips together adjacentone edge thereof, and subsequently cutting the strips transversely of their Width while maintaining the movement of the strips at constant velocity.

2. The method of making a manifold pack in which transfer strips are interleaved between record strips, comprising continuously feeding elongated webs of record and transfer material which transfer strips are interleaved betweenv record strips comprising continuously feeding elongated webs of record strips having regularly spaced perforations adjacent one edge and transfer material into interleaved relationship by movi ing the webs at a predetermined rate of speed and While progressively engaging the perforations to align one strip with another, securing the Webs together while they move at such predetermined rate of speed, shearing the perforation bearing portion of the strips from the assembled webs and moving a shear member at the substantially same rate of speed as the rate of `travel of the Webs to cause the shear to sever the web into individual packs without interrupting the speed of progress of the unsheared portions of the web and Without interrupting the progressive engagement of the perforations in the unsheared portions of the web. Y

4. The method of making a manifold pack, in which transfer strips are interleaved between record strips, comprising continuously feeding elongated strips of record and transfer material into interleaved relationship, securing the strips together along one edge thereof, subsequently cutting the strips along said secured edge, and finally cutting the strips transversely of said first cut to form individual packs, both of said cutting operations taking placel without interrupting the constant feeding of said elongated strips.

5. The herein described method of making a manifold pack, which comprises continuously feeding printed record webs having regularly spaced perforations adjacent one edge thereof into interleaved relationship with transfer Webs,

passing said continuously moving webs over a roller having pins to engage said perforations whereby to align one printed web with another progressively securing the webs together, subsequently severing the perforation bearing portion of the secured webs, and finally shearing the continuously moving interleaved webs transversely of said first cut to form individual packs each of whichcomprise a plurality of secured sheets.

6. A machine for making manifold forms including means for supporting a plurality of rolls of record and transfer material, means for withdrawing strips of material from said rolls, guiding f means for interleaving the transfer strips with record strips, means for moving the assembled web at a predetermined surface speed to keep the strips aligned one to the other, means for securing one edge of the aligned strips together, a rotating cutter arranged with its cutting edge extending transversely of the web and substantially parallel with its axis, means to rotate said cutter at peripheral speed equal to the lineal speed of the travelling web, and relatively stationary means coacting with said cutter to shear the assembled web into individual packs.

7. A machine for making manifold forms comprising means for assembling the forms in a continuous movement, means for cutting the forms into individual packs without interrupting the movementof the forms, and mechanism for feeding and aligning the forms one to the other, means for securingI one edge of the aligned forms together and means for operating the cutting mechanism to maintain uniformity of movement of the uncut forms and to insure the cutting of each form to predetermined widths.

GEORGE L. FULK. 

